Hybrid Workbench

Here is my version of a hybrid workbench. I would love to have a typical European style bench with a large twin screw vice on the side, but I have neither the space nor the funds for one. Furthermore, I needed a bench that I can easily move by myself, yet is strong enough to work with mortising chisels or hand planes. Also, because of my height, I prefer a bench that stands just a little higher than most.

This bench turned out to be a pretty good compromise. Its design revolves around the Zyliss vice and Veritas Bench Dogs / Wonder Dogs / Surface Clamp. My father purchased a Zyliss vice back in the 70’s and I have been very impressed with them ever since. New, they tend to be pretty expensive but if you keep your eyes open they are quite reasonable on eBay. I now have four of them.

The light wood is Alder and the darker is Eucalyptus. The Eucalyptus is not only beautiful but also tough as nails. I will say that if I were to do it again, I would replace the Alder with Hard Maple. The Alder is a little softer than I expected. I made the feet out of Ash to handle the abuse of being moved around. All of the joinery is either pairs of 10×50mm Dominos or Miller dowels. I finished it with Danish Oil and several coats of paste wax.

where’d you get the eucalyptus? we have tonsss of them in southern CA, mostly young ones though. I do have some decent sized logs but from the looks of it the grain wouldn’t finish nearly that dark, love the way ur pieces of it look though!

well I have some southern california eucalyptus stumps, from what i’ve read they aren’t as good as the lyptus and hybrid eucalyptus found elsewhere for WW, but i’m optimistic they will look cool in some kind of way, even if it’s just cuz it looks different! hehe

Just a quick update: Over the weekend I lowered this bench down to 33 inches. It was great for router work, but was too tall for my hand planes. I’m now using a Walko bench for the router stuff and it seems to be working well. Cheers, Frank